Panoramic display device.



'No. 658,543. Patented Sept. 25, I900. c. L. FOWLER. PANORAMIOP DISPLAY DEVICE.

(Application filed. Nov. 25, 1898.) (No Model.)

lUNiTE BTATES PATENT OFFICE.

COLEMAN LOWELL FOWLER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

PANORAMIC DISPLAY DEVICE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 658,543, dated September 25, 1900.

Application filed November 25 1898- Serial No. 697,392. (No model.)

To (LU wit/mt it nuty concern.-

Be it known that I, COLEMAN LOWELL FOW- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, hat e invented certain new and useful Improvements in Panoramic Display Devices, of which the followingis afull and clear description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

The invention relates to that class of devices of the character indicated wherein a single scroll is adapted to exhibit pictures or advertisements placed upon its opposite sides before two openings in the same side of the case.

The object of the invention is to provide certain improvements in devices of this character; and with that end in view the inven'- tion consists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter fully disclosed and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the device; Fig. 2, an enlarged sectional detail on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a detail of one form of brake mechanism; Figs. 4 and 5, end views of one of the winding-rollers, showing the pawl in position; Fig. 6, an end view of one gudgeonroller; Fig. 7, a detail of the pawl, and Fig. 8 is a modified form of brake mechanism.

The case A is in the form of a rectangular box of any suitable material, and its top and bottom edges are oblique to the front and rear walls,and the case isinclined rearwardly when set up for use. The lower edge or base is somewhat wider upon the body of the box for the purpose of giving greater stability. A leaf a is pivotally attached to the front of the case near its bottom and is of such size as to cover the entire upper portion of the face when turned up and is adapted to be thrown downwardly to form a table or desk and also to counterbalance the box to more firmly retain it in its upright position. The front of the case is provided with two apertures a u across whichthe scroll is adapted to travel, the arrangement of the rollers which support the scroll being such that one of its faces is exhibited at one aperture of the case and the other face at the other aperture. The scroll E is attached at each end to one of the winding-rollers B B, which are located in approximately the center of the case, and one at the inner side of each aperture. At the outer side of the upper aperture an idle roller 0 is journaled, and a corresponding idle roller 0 isjournaled at the outer side of the lower aperture, all arranged in substantially the same vertical plane. Between the apertures and approximately at the lower edge of the upper aperture a guide-roller D is journaled, whose function will be hereinafter more fully set forth. The scroll E is carried upwardly from the rear of the upper windingroller B, for example, over the upperidler C and then across the upper aperture to the guide-roller D, around which it is given a quarter-tn rn to pass rearwardl y of the lower winding-roller B down to the lower idler 0, about which it is turned to cross the lower aperture to the lower winding-roller B. By this arrangement of rollers the pictures or advertising matter on one face of the scroll is exhibited at the upper aperture and that upon the opposite face at the lower aperture. The guide-roller D holds the face of the scroll at all times snugly against the edges of the upper aperture. It has been found in practice that when this roller is omitted the scroll will fall away from the edges of the aperture as it is unwound from the rollerB. Of course when this roller B is full the volume of the material upon it will keep the scroll against the edges of the aperture; but as the scroll is gradually unwound it falls away from the aperture, leaving an opening which exposes the inner casing and its attached parts. By providing the'independent guide-roller D all such objections are obviated, as the scroll is at all times held against the edges of the aperture irrespective of the volume of the material upon the roller B. The guide-roller D is journaled in the casing forward of the line of the other rollers in order that it may hold the scroll snugly against the edges of the aperture without reference to the positions of the other rollers.

Each of the winding-rollers B B is provided with a gudgeon b at each end, by which it is journaled in the case, the gudgeons upon one side merely extending into the casing, those upon the opposite side extending through the casing for the purpose of receiving the winding-key K. As shown in the drawings, especially in Figs. 4, 5, and 6, the gudgeons b, that extend through the casing, are hollowed and have keyholes K in their ends to receive the flat key K. These gudgeons are reduced, as at W, by cutting the metal transversely and bending it down, as shown in the drawings, so that the keyhole opens laterally through it to expose the upper fork of the key to the action of the pawl P, as hereinafter described. The term gudgeon is here employed not in its technical sense, but as a convenient expression to indicate the bearings of the winding-rolls, it being used in this art in such connection.

The pawls P are formed from pieces of flat metal and are provided with opening P, through which the gudgeons of the rollers pass to support the pawls. An oblique slot 19 is cut in each pawl leading from the opening P and has one of its shoulders, 19, abrupt and the other, 1), somewhat rounded. The top edge of the opening P of the pawl is on a slightly-curved line. which brings the lower face of the shoulder 19 a trifietabove the lower face of the shoulder 19. The pawls are located in the cut-away portion a of the side of the frame and are held in place by the gudgeons of the rollers passing through them or by the plates P which straddle the pawls and are interposed between the frame and the horizontal faces of the rollers. These plates are shown in Fig. 2, but are omitted from the other figures for greater clearness.

The action of the device is as follows: Key K extends within the gudgeon and is exposed at the reduced portion 19 thereof and when moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 4, which may be designated as the winding direction, will raise the pawl by contacting with the under side of the shoulderp. As the slot 19 is oblique or tangential to the opening P in the direction of the shoulder 12, and as the lower face of the rounded shoulder 19 is slightly above the lower face of the shoulderp, the key does not pass into the slot when it has cleared the abrupt shoulder 10, but the rounded shoulderp strikes upon the key and is raised by the action of the key upon its rounded or cam surface, permitting the latter to pass uninterruptedly alongits path. When, however, the movement is in the opposite direction, as indicated by the arrow on Fig. 5, which is the unwinding direction, the key then comes in contact with the rounded shoulder 1), and as the shoulder 19 is somewhat lower than the shoulderp and the obliquity of the slot is in its direction. of movement it passes directly into the slot 19 where it is held by the abrupt shoulderp against further rotation. The pawl is cammed up in each movement of the key and falls again into its normal position bygravity, heingheld against rotation by the edges of the cut-away portion a of the frame or the straddling plates P The obliquity of the slot is in the direction of the key when the roller is wound in the wrong or unwindingdirection, and hence the slot more readily falls upon the key when it is travelingin that direction, while the rounded shoulder enables the key to raise the pawl when the key is rotated in the winding direction. As the scroll is wound upon the roller operated by the keyit is of course unwound from the other roller, which is thereby caused to revolve in its unwinding direction. This brings the face of one of the bends of the metal of the gudgeon at its reduced portion 1) in the range of the abrupt shoulderp of the pawl, which ordinarily would prevent the free rotation of the roller. This is obviated by the lower edge of the round shoulder 13, which raises the pawl so that the abrupt shonlderp is somewhat above the path of the face of the reduced part and more in the path of the bend of the metal, so that the pawl is raised thereby and the roller revolves without any catch or hitch.

In devices of this character it is necessary to provide some means for preventing the counter-rotation of the winding-roller upon which the scroll is being wound. This may be accomplished in various ways, and I have illustrated different forms of mechanism adapted for this purpose. For example, in Fig. 3 I have shown a form of brake which bears equally upon each of the winding-rollers and prevents the rollers from being wound in the wrong direction by the elasticity of the scroll. In this figure the letter F indicates a light wire frame bent back upon itself at its middle to form an attaching-pin f and then extended to form the two oppositely-projecting legs, which are bent inwardly at the ends to form spindles to receive the rollers F F The casing is recessed atfat about midway between winding-rollers, .and the pin f is bent outwardly in a direction opposite to the spindles on the ends of the legs and is seated therein. When in this position the rollers F F will bear upon the ends of the windingrollers outside of the flanges b, and the flexibility of the frame F is such as to hold the brake-rollers down upon the winding-rollers with sufficient force to prevent these rollers from unwinding under the stress of the scroll.

It is apparent that this brake device just described will operate to the same effect and for the same purpose if the rollers F F be omitted, and it is within the spirit of my invention to construct this device, if desired, in the form of a leaf-spring hearing at its ends upon the winding-rollers in exactly the manner above described.

In Fig. 8 I have shown a modified form of brake mechanism, which consists of a rectangular block H, which has concave portions resting upon the winding-rollers and held in position by the spring 7L, which is attached at one end to the block and rests loosely against it at the other.

These forms of brake mechanism are preferable to such as are permanently connected to the case by screws, &c., as they may be lCO more readily and easily assembled, which enables an operator to fit together the parts of a greater number of cases in a shorter time than otherwise, and they may be readily removed and replaced when for any reason this is desired.

I am aware that it is not new to so arrange a scroll in a case that the pictures or other matter upon its opposite faces shall be exhibited at apertures arranged in one of the sides of the case, such construction being shown in the United States patents to Snyder, No. 205,149, dated June 18, 1878; to Irvin, No. 377,384, dated February 7, 1888; to Knight, No. 388,980, dated September 4, 1888; to Fish and Sullivan, No. 557,571, dated April 7, 1896, and to Yaggy, No. 564,418, dated July 21, 1896, and I do not broadly claim such an arrangement nor anything disclosed in any of these patents.

What I do claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

1. The combination with a case having apertures in one of its sides, of a pair of winding-rollers journaled near the inner sides of the apertures at the center of the case, a single idle roller journaled at the outer side of each aperture, said rollers being in substantially the same plane a scroll one of Whose ends is attached to each winding-roller and which is reversed over each idle roller, substantially as described.

2. The combination with a case having apertures in one of its sides, of a winding-roller jonrnaled at the inner side of each aperture and a single idle roller journaled at the outer side thereof, said rollers being in substantially the same plane a scroll having its ends attached one to each winding-roller, and a single guide-roller journaled forward of the winding-rollers, substantially as described.

3. The combination with a case and windin'grrollers journaled therein, each having a hollow gudgeon projecting through the case and reduced to expose a key, of a key insertihle in the hollow gudgeon, and a pawl surrounding and supported by the gudgeon and having a shoulder to prevent rotation of the key in one direction, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a case and a winding-roller having a hollow gudgeon provided with a keyhole in its end and a reduced portion, of a key adapted to the keyhole and having its end exposed above said reduced portion, and a pawl provided with an opening through which the gudgeon passes to support the pawl and with a slot having an abrupt and a rounded shoulder, substantially as described.

5. The combination with a winding-roller having a hollow gudgeon provided with a keyhole and reduced to expose a key, of a key, and a pawl surrounding and supported by the gudgeon and interposed between the easing and the end of the roller, substantially as described.

6. The combination with a case having a pair of winding-rollers, each provided with a gudgeon having a reduced portion with oppositely-disposed faces, of a pawl having an opening to receive the gudgeon whereby it is supported, an abrupt shoulder normally in the path of one of the faces of the gudgeon and a round shoulder whereby the pawl is raised by the revolution of the gudgeon, substantially as described.

7. The combination with a case having a pair of alined apertures in one of its sides a single pair of guide-rollers, one at the outer side of each aperture, of a scroll extending from the center of the case across one of the apertures and returning across the other aperture to near the starting-point, rollers journaled in the case at theinner sides of the apertures in substantially the same plane as the guide-rollers upon which the scroll is wound, and a brake mechanism common to the winding-rollers, substantially as described.

8. The combination with a case having a pair of apertures in one of its sides, of a scroll, a pair of gudgeon-rollers journaled in the case near its center, an idle roller journaled in each end of the case, and a brake mechanism composed of a spring-frame having an outwardly-bent pin and inwardly-bent spindles and friction-rollers in contact with the gudgeon-rollers, substantially as described.

9. The combination with a case having a pair of apertures in one side, winding-rollers journaled near the inner ends of the openings, a single pair of idle rollers journaled respectively near the outer ends of the openings, and a single guide-roller journaled between the openings and in advance of the' winding-rollers, of a scroll carried by the rollers, and a key for operating the winding-rollers, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

COLEMAN LOWELL FOWLER.

Witnesses:

J. V. A. WEAVER, J. McRoBERTs. 

